Luke Cage

The third of Marvel’s Netflix series stars Mike Colton as the bullet proof, super-strong reluctant hero of Harlem. He first appeared as Jessica Jones’s love interest in her show, and he will be part of The Defenders, which will combine them with Daredevil and Iron Fist (whose show premieres next year). The first seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones were stellar, lauded by critics and audiences, and Luke Cage is not quite as consistent in its quality, though it’s much, much more socially relevant. Creator Cheo Hodari Coker uses Luke Cage – originally created in the 1970s in the mold of a blaxploitation hero – to teach us things about Harlem and African American history, to comment on black crime and black politics and to deal with black people in and out of a flawed police force.